Wednesday, 15 May 2013

Moccasin boot hybrids - old meets new (traditional buckskin woodland footwear, with a modern twist..)

This is an article I wrote for a magazine around this time last year, re-posted for those who haven't yet seen it, anyone who has expressed an interest in how they were made having seen them on a course or on my social media images and anyone who likes looking at bluebells!

As an
amateur designer and maker of home-made clothing and equipment, my holy grail has
always been footwear. To look at a modern pair of training shoes for example,
with a view to replicating them befuddles my brain beyond belief. Even a
standard pair of leather boots seems to combine an unbelievable number of
highly developed skills to stitch, shape and join the leather, rubber and metal
in order to make something we all take for granted.

The humble pair of boots has to fulfil an extraordinary task for which they are not given enough credit. They must be light in weight to ease the load for your weary legs but at the same time, strong enough to support our feeble 21stcentury feet. They must also be flexible to allow the twenty six bones and one hundred or so muscles, ligaments and tendons in each foot and ankle to flex, contract and expand freely. They must have a flexible but hardwearing sole to cope with the incredibly tough and unforgiving modern surfaces we are all expected to walk around on. Not only that but we prefer them to have a certain amount of cushioning and often require some insulation, waterproofing and breathability too. In short, we’re all wearing a pair of little miracles on our feet!

Surely then,
to make one’s own footwear for the woods is a skill reserved for only an elite
minority, the chosen few, a special kind of craftsman?

“Cobblers!”
I exclaimed and set about researching the subject (that joke surely deserves an
award of some kind…). I took my research right back to basics, to a time when
nobody even knew what a Vibram sole was and tools and materials could be made
rather than bought. After all, the sort of footwear I wanted to make would be
for using only in the woods. I wanted a degree of protection for walking
through spiky, stinging foliage and also from the elements. At the same time I
wanted them to be extremely light weight, flexible and noise free
underfoot.When I’m out in the woods on
my own I like to pad about as quietly and as stealthily as possible. It’s
amazing what you see and hear when you aren’t crashing through the undergrowth
in a pair of clumpy boots.

As I read
every piece of literature I could find on the subject of traditional footwear I
was astounded by the variation between cultures and environments. One quite
disappointing truth that cropped up repeatedly was that back in the day, in
relatively warm temperate environments most of us didn’t wear boots of any kind
for much of the time. Even where some kind of footwear should really have been necessary
due to the local flora and fauna, people just went without whenever they could.
We were obviously tougher back then (well our feet were anyway) and with traditional
materials wearing out pretty quick when worn as foot wear, to go barefoot was probably
the preferred option. For someone who can’t walk across a pebbly beach barefoot
without yelping and whining, this clearly wasn’t going to be an option.

While
reading (well, looking at the pictures…) one type of traditional footwear had
caught my eye more than once. The buckskin moccasin was, and still is renowned
the world over for quietness, flexibility and just feeling closer to nature. Ellsworth
Jaeger in his book ‘Wildwood Wisdom’ tells us that “moccasins are the best natural footwear that has ever been devised. The
moccasined foot can feel it’s way along the trail and are light and warm at
night. Moccasined feet are like the pads of animals”.Jim Riggs author of the Blue Mountain
Buckskin manual says quite simply “buckskin
moccasins give you magic feet!” and who are we to argue with that.

Another
advantage of this wonder footwear is that the fabric used to make traditional
moccasins is born of the land itself. Buckskin is a material manufactured from
animal hides (mainly deer species) thereby making good use of a natural
resource and by-product of hunting for meat. To make buckskin is a fairly
lengthy process, a subject in it’s own right. In a nutshell, the hide must
first be scraped to remove any flesh, soaked in a lye solution of wood ash and
water for several days then scraped to remove the top layer of skin along with
the hair or fur. After a good rinsing the hide is scraped again to remove any
membrane still clinging onto the flesh side then a solution of brains and warm
water is massaged well into the fibres (whole eggs or pure soap and neat’s foot
oil will also do the job). This oily solution is left to penetrate the hide for
as long as possible, usually overnight, then firmly wrung out by twisting the
hide around a wooden pole until it feels clammy rather than wet. The skin is
then manipulated and stretched until dry, softened further by working the
fibres over a slightly abrasive surface. Finally the now soft buckskin is force
smoked over a punky fire to help preserve and keep it soft as well as colour it
to the desired shade from a light tan to a rich brown. This fantastic fabric is
virtually windproof and showerproof, retains some warmth when wet, is quiet in
use, comfortable to wear, tough (quite literally as old boots) and very easy to
make into clothing and equipment.

There were
many designs of moccasin depending on where in the world the wearer lived. Some
had hard soles made from thick rawhide to give a degree of protection from
thorns and others kept the hair on for insulation. For the most part a soft
sole seemed to be common place. As I had no desire to stay true to any
particular tribal group or historical period I was happy to ‘mix and match’
where possible, even incorporating some modern ideas to hopefully tailor an
existing design to my own British woodland environment. My first modern
improvement would be a sewn in tongue to prevent grit and other debris finding
it’s way inside through the laces. Also, the sole needed some attention for
several reasons. Firstly, the sole of a traditional moccasin has a very limited
lifespan, even when used only in the woods. Secondly, buckskin is also not
really designed to be waterproofed (it’s just too breathable and flexible) and
thirdly, in damp conditions buckskin can feel ‘slimy’ therefore making the
soles incredibly slick and likely to put you on your backside without warning.
My proposed solution was to add a thin, grippy rubber sole somehow. Lastly, many
traditional designs had a very simple lacing system, basically a length of
buckskin thonging to wrap around the lower leg several times and tie off. I wanted
proper parachute cord laces and lacing tabs to pull the moccasins in tight and
give me a better fit. With all this in mind I took some inspiration from
Ellsworth Jaeger’s book which has several excellent moccasin designs and plenty
of moccasin related information. The illustrations are quite cartoony and there
is one character who frequently pops up in full buckskin garb, wearing a natty
little pair of pucker toe moccasin/boot hybrids. His little cartoony feet
became the inspiration behind my new footwear.

An animal
hide, being a natural product has an inconsistent thickness. Some areas need to
be stronger such as the area around the neck, the haunches and along the ridge
of the back. The side flanks and underbelly are slightly thinner and therefore
softer. These different qualities can be used to our advantage and incorporated
into a clothing design. For example, moccasin soles need to be strong and thick
but the uppers and tongue are better made from the thinner areas. When marking
out a pattern it’s good to arrange the different pieces with all of this in
mind. Also, some hides are generally thicker than others. The difference in
thickness between a winter hide and a summer hide is notable but there is also
a thickness variation between male and female and even different deer species.
Roe deer will give the crafts person a thin and small hide, Muntjac is smaller
still but quite thick, Red deer although much larger has quite an obvious
thickness variation between the neck and flank area and also has a more open fibre
structure making it wear quicker. Across the pond, Moose is the preferred
choice of hide for making buckskin moccasins but we don’t have many in
Wiltshire! I have found that winter Fallow deer hide will give a good thickness
combined with a pretty good size, certainly suitable enough for making a pair
of moccasin boots.

A well smoked buckskin
showing the typical variation in thickness and strength

I based the
bare bones of my design around the ‘pucker toe’ moccasin worn by the woodland
tribes of North America. There are other, simpler designs that I had made
before such as the side fold ‘mitten’ moccasin but I liked the way the
puckering lifted up any stitching to the top of the foot, well away from ground
level where it might leak or wear more quickly. I had also decided to use a
liquid rubber mixed with shredded sticky rubber granules to paint a hard
wearing, grippy sole onto the moccasins and I quite liked the idea of being
able to extend this waterproof surface up the sides slightly and seal the
stitching on the heel tab. Although in theory, buckskin costs nothing in
monetary terms, it is priceless to the person who has just made it so not
wanting to end up with a ruined buckskin, my initial attempt was to be made
using calico stitched together with wool and a darning needle. Using this
method, I could get the fit just right with the added advantage of being able
to take the prototype moccasin apart and use it as a working pattern. After
playing around with the puckering method and adding uppers and a sewn in ‘bellows’
tongue I felt confident enough to mark out my first moccasin on a nice, thick fallow
buckskin and cut out the five pieces that would form it’s basic structure.

It probably
comes as no surprise to learn that there are also many methods of stitching
buckskin. For rough and ready garments, an oversized running stitch or whip
stitch using buckskin thonging is quick and effective. The fibres in buckskin
‘knit’ together quite nicely when joined in this way, with no need for hems. As
the material is so thick, each stitch hole must first be made using a sharp awl.
This isn’t as time consuming as it sounds once you get in a rhythm. The
buckskin thonging even becomes it’s own needle by twisting one end into a point
with licked fingers. Being a show off I decided to keep my stitching small and
neat for maximum weatherproofing opting for sinew as a thread and a modern size
18 saddlers needle rather than a traditional bone or antler version. Highly
weatherproof skin garments that were traditionally sewn using sinew are truly
amazing. Sinew, again being a natural product, has it’s limitations. Although
incredibly strong for it’s size, sinew only comes in short lengths so must be
joined or twisted into thin cordage. Luckily there is a modern alternative in
the form of synthetic sinew which comes on a huge roll. Hurrah!

Running stitch using buckskin thonging

Whip stitch using buckskin thonging

Punching holes through two thicknesses of
buckskin using an awl, for fine stitching using artificial sinew

Using a pair of blunt pincers to help push and
pull the needle through

My
attempts at neat puckering weren’t quite as good as planned. It’s a difficult
technique to master as you can see from the images, especially with thick
buckskin. Each stich on the tongue vamp (B) corresponds with a wider spaced
partner on the front foot section (A). As the stitching is pulled tight, the
foot section ’puckers’ up to make the toe box. At this stage the moccasins were
beginning to take shape but also looking worringly like a pair of granny
slippers! The vamp, now stitched in place extends to form the tongue and soft,
thin ‘wings’ (D) were sewn onto the sides of this for joining to the upper (C)
later, forming a ‘bellows’ tongue. It’s worth pointing out here that due to the
thickness of the fallow hide, I had soaked the buckskin to make it easier to
crimp and sew the puckering. Even with pre-made awl holes, the needle proved
difficult to push through two thicknesses of hide so a pair of blunt pincers
proved invaluable.

Pucker toe stitching technique

Toe section finished and 'puckered up'

While the
foot section was still damp I pushed my foot inside to get a good fit before
marking the correct position of the heel tab and stitching it together.
Buckskin will stretch when damp so make your moccasins slightly small while the
individual pieces are still dry. Once the moccasins are completely stitched
soak them in water for a short while, plunge your feet within, lace them up and
wear them until they dry again. In theory, they will stretch and mould to your
exact foot shape!

Heel tab completed and uppers stitched into position

Upper added with bellows
tongue and lace tabs

With the
heel tab stitched in position the upper was then joined to the foot section
with an overlapping seam and running stitch. Lastly, the tongue wings were
stitched to the upper incorporating looped tabs for threading the parachute cord
laces through. Both moccasins were soaked, stretched and worn until dry as
previously mentioned. Magic feet here we come!

After a
couple of experiments with ‘shoe goo’ and rubber flakes painted onto buckskin
scraps, I felt confident enough to begin waving the paintbrush around threateningly
near my precious new footwear. To help the rubber goo adhere to the buckskin
surface I ‘roughed’ up the soles with coarse sandpaper and slapped the mixture on
while it was still malleable and tacky. The goo starts to solidify quickly so
the rubber flakes were patted into the pungent coating as soon as it was in
position immediately giving a matt, textured finish. Warning – liquid rubber
has pretty toxic fumes. Don’t do this with the shed windows shut or you’ll
start to see pixies dancing around the room, possibly being encouraged by a singing
unicorn wearing a fez!

Rubber paint, rubber flakes and roughened sole

Applying liquid rubber and
rubber flakes in the workshop

The finished rubber sole - grippy and waterproof

Having worn
my woodland moccasin/boot hybrids several times in the last twelve months I must say that they
certainly bring you closer to nature. The detail of the woodland floor can be
felt with every step! The small packable size makes them perfect as back up
footwear or for silently padding around camp. I’ve been using a selection of
home-made buckskin equipment for several years now, knife sheaths, pouches and
various bags and looking down at my moccasined feet I’m starting to think the
fashion might be spreading. Will I get away with the trousers too? I think I just
might…

Completed moccasin/boot hybrids airing in the wood smoke of a
campfire

Hi Austin,To be honest, both methods very quickly just smooth over with use...however, the rubber itself becomes quite matt and sticky a bit like rock climbing boot soles. The sand/flakes just give it a head start really. Post some pics when you're done!

2: Theoretically, couldn't the tongue and the bellows wings be one piece? Just sort of contoured? I am very interested in making my own in a similar style and I'd like your thoughts on these two points.

Allow a minimum of 7 sq ft to be on the safe side (hides are a natural product so have holes, wavy edges, scrapes and varying thickness).

In theory you could make the tongue and bellows from one piece but it's difficult to know exactly where your pucker toe stitching will end so I add them on after. Also the tongue part needs some strength as it also forms part of the upper foot section and benefits from some slight firmness when wearing the boots in. The bellows need to ultra thin and flexible however, as they get all bunched up when you pull the laces tight.Hope that helps!Joe

These look like an awesome project! Any idea where someone who isn't a hunter can get buckskin? Also, how difficult do you think it would be to line these with fleece or some sort of quilted insulation? It gets cold in my neck of the woods!

Hi Josh, good to hear from you. Whereabouts in the world are you? Buckskin is easier to get hold of in some parts than others...of course you could always learn how to make your own ;-) http://www.wilderness-survival.co.uk/buckskin-moccasin-workshop

I've made moccasins from sheepskin before and also larger sized winter moccs with felted wool liners. Anything is possible! I got hold of a load of wax impregnated sheepskins for the first moccasin course I ran years ago and everyone made fleece lined side fold moccs. Apparently they're still going strong as house slippers now! A friend of mine also made some high leg pucker toe sheepskin moccs for winter use on Dartmoor and they were toasty warm by all accounts. With sheepskin seams you just need to trim the wool where the two sections meet to get the seam tight and neat, especially around the puckering or you'll look like fred flintstone.Good luck!Joe

Glover's needles in a your kit are an awesome thing. Good ones!! They sure make sewing buckskin a whole lot easier, especially if your without an awl (or it has wandered off into someone else's tool kit *wink* )

My children have caught the fever since my 14 yr old daughter was given a pair of Moc boots. Now, the 12 yr old son wants a pair. My old pair, made on impulse and with no pattern save what came to my head, are ready to retire so....Mom wants a new pair, too! lol I'd sure appreciate that PDF pattern if anyone has it lying around in Files. sawmillsquaw@gmail.com

Just finish my first Moccasin. Left foot anyway at the end of each lacing I left several inches as I am not sure how to best finish off ends so they will hold the best. Can anyone explain that in detail?

I don’t have a pattern as such. I draw inspiration from designs in books and other sources then go straight for the cloth prototype. This is tacked together, adjusted, re-tacked, adjusted again until I get something that fits me perfectly. This is then taken apart, opened out and used to trace round when making the same boot from buckskin or leather. So it’s a working pattern of sorts but very specific to my size and shape of foot with any additional features (higher leg, lace tabs, tongue bellows etc). The basic pattern can be found in a variety of different places, all of which are designed to give the maker exactly that...the basic idea of a pattern. The cloth prototype is something everyone should do as it helps to expand on that fairly two dimensional information, refining the basic pattern, making it fit the individual and serves as a kind of dry run for getting an idea of exactly how the three dimensional object is constructed (allowance for seams etc). The basic concept of my own boots is taken from Wildwood wisdom by Ellsworth Jaeger (woodland moccasin). The information and images are quite basic but when combined with the cloth prototype, any gaps are filled in by you.

Hi Ryan,Glad you like the mocc boots. See above for replies ref patterns. Basically I use a standard woodland pucker toe type pattern and add the other bits. Best thing is to make a prototype of your own before cutting into your best buckskin, then you'll work out the perfect fit for your foot. Look in Wildwood Wisdom by Ellsworth Jaeger for the basic pattern. Sand is fine to mix with the barge cement. Not sure about the grooves - might not have the strength in the cement to support them for any period of time. I always frame soften my thicker, larger hides but still find that boots have a bit more stretching to do when worn. Hope that helps and good luckJoe

when you say look above for ref patterns, I don't see a link or anything. reckon im still trying to wake up or something. I have done google searches for woodland pucker toe pattern, none as cool as yours. what is a good fabric to start out with so I don't cut up good buckskin?

I used to have wildwood wisdom, and then I had to give it back to a friend.

Hi Ryan, Sorry, I meant the replies to others (pretty much the same as I said to you before about looking for a typical pucker toe woodland pattern). Good to know my pattern is the coolest! If you take off the upper cuff and longer tongue, the lower foot part is exactly the same as any other pucker toe woodland type design out there (in fact my puckering is a bit rougher to be honest - working on that). The basic principle is what you want ie where to start, with what distance to mark out from the foot etc. Ellsworth's book will give you that, or any other pucker toe pattern out there on the net. By making your own prototype you'll be able to improve on that and make your own personalised model, hopefully better than mine. For prototype fabric I use calico but an old bed sheet would do it. If you want something thicker - closer to the thickness of your buckskin then maybe a heavy cotton like an old curtain or even a thin wool blanketHope that helpsJoe

awesome...thank you for the info. I called the library....gonna pick up the book. that seems to make sense with regards to ive never made a moccs. I can use your info, the book, and my imagination to make a sweet pair.

I like the rough pucker look....everyone else wants it to be all prim, trim, and proper.

one question....will you remove my email address from that one section...don't want the world knowing my info. please...thanks

Nice project Joe. I am going to make some...ah...er...try to make some. I have diddle around with making waxwear (tincloth) formula and that might incorporated as well. Good job. Thanks for the work in posting the blog. G. Landretti http://www.landrettistudio.com/home/fabric

Work with the leather wet. But make sure you account for it drying. Also just stand and draw foot. Add an inch to cut for foot. I could dry you a basic pattern but then you would have to size it for you. Let me know if you would like that.

What they're all saying about the Wilderness Survival Guide; "A work of literary genius" Joe's mum, "Not bad for a truant" Head of English at Chatsmore High School, "The next Roger Hargreaves" Sam O'Leary age 3, "Glorified toilet paper" The Daily Nugget